The Secret Protector
by Ulura
Summary: Merlin is injured and presumed dead after defeating Morgana and her immortal army. Now that his friends think him dead Merlin cannot return to Camelot without Morgana coming after him, so he must find a new way to protect his friend and his prince.
1. Chapter 1

**IMPORTANT: Just so you know this story starts in "Coming of Arthur Part 2", specifically when Merlin and Lancelot go to empty the cup, everything that has happened in the show up until that point happened that way, though I may add in my own original flashbacks. Everything after that point in the show is AU.**

Merlin sliced his way through the last of the immortal warriors guarding the cup. He found it slightly strange that Morgana only had six men guarding the most essential item to her reign over Camelot, but he sure as hell wasn't complaining. For once he praised her arrogance. However he didn't dwell on that for too long, the Cup of Life was only a few feet away, all he had to do was swing the sword and spill the blood and Arthur would have his kingdom back.

He raised the sword to end the spell and Morgana's reign of terror when he felt an invisible force grip him by the chest and raise him into the air, sword slipping through his fingers. He gasped in pain as he hit the sone walls forcefully sending a sharp pain through his body that left him gasping and writhing on the floor momentarily. He looked up at his attacker, Morguase.

"I have a feeling I wont be seeing you again" She sneered raising her hand, Merlin tried to raise himself up but he was still winded.

"No, you wont" Came Gaius's voice, "Oferswinge!"

Morguase was thrown back but she was on her feet soon, turing to attack Gaius. _'__No!__' _Merlin yelled in his mind, raising his hand and letting his magic shoot forward sending Morguase sprawling through the air, her head colliding painfully with the stone pillar. Merlin stood painfully winded, his eyes met Morgana's, the self proclaimed queen had just entered the room. Her cold green eyes displayed so much emotion, hate, confusion, shock.

They broke their gazes and each ran forward, Merlin to the sword, Morgana to her sister. Merlin quickly swung the sword forward sending the blood spiraling out of the cup, splashing against the cool stone walls.

_Arthur_

Arthur ran through the castle his new Knights of the Round Table close behind, the immortal army had been destroyed which meant somebody had made it to the cup, he wanted to know who. They burst into the chamber and were met with a strange sight. Lancelot was sitting on the ground nursing an injured arm, Gaius was not too far from him looking haggard. What really had the attention of everybody in the room was Morgana, cradling her apparently dead sister and a fatigued Merlin standing, sword in hand a few feet from them, the overturned cup coming to a rolling halt at his feet.

"It's over Morgana" Said Merlin strongly in a voice that was not his own, no waver in his voice, his eyes piercing down on her. The servant reminded Arthur of a well trained knight looking upon a fallen opponent.

"No!" She cried looking at Merlin with a look of pure hatred. A look Arthur recognized from her of late. Ever since her return he thought he had seen it, a slightly demonic grin that passed by her lips every time something terrible happened to him or Camelot. He had seen it out of the corner of his eye, always thought it was his imagination but now. Now he saw. Merlin had known. Right from the beginning he had known where Morgana's loyalties lied. It explained it all, their cold demeanor towards one another, the fact that she never let him serve her.

All this time Merlin the servant had known and been unable to tell anybody, simply because nobody, let alone Arthur or his father, would of believed him.

"This has only just begun!" Morgana spat, "You, you have ruined so many of my plans to take this kingdom and now, you've killed my sister!"

Arthur glanced at the other gobsmacked knights beside him, peasant Merlin had been protecting Camelot from within for god knows how long with no praise. Now he just stood there, swaying ever so slightly ever few moments but never failing to look strong.

"I tried to help you in the beginning Morgana, you did this to yourself" He answered cooly.

"áglæca ádfýr!" She screamed, a demonic orange ball of fire forming in her hand, hundreds of tendrils flying forth rom it, forming the shape of snakes. Merlin gave a cry of pain as the snakes bit into him, staggering backwards.

"Merlin!" Arthur yelled running forwards but not fast enough, the tendrils became faster and thicker, wrapping around the servant until he could no longer be seen and finally constricting, Merlin cry was cut painfully short. Morgana gave a cry that was half rage half joy and turned to give the horrified knights a glare before disappearing in a stream of black wind, her sister in tow.

With its caster gone the tower of flames disintegrated, Arthur blinked in shock and horror. Where Merlin had been standing strongly only a few moments before, now there was only a half burn neckerchief.

_Merlin_

As the fire consumed him he knew he needed to make a choice. He was exhausted, winded, burnt and fatigued however, casting powerful magic was going to be hard but now, covered by the wall of flames was the only time. Quickly he focused all his instinctual magic into thinking about the glade where he usually called Killgarah, willing himself to be there. He felt a nauseating feeling spread throughout him, like he was being spun around very very fast. He was vaguely aware of his neckerchief being ripped from his neck. This feeling doubled when suddenly the ground was ripped out from under him and then slammed back into place a few seconds later.

The heat from the flames had gone, replaced with cool fresh evening air making Merlin gasp it in gratefully before falling to the ground. He was so tired. All he wanted to do was stay here in the cool grass and sleep but he knew he couldn't his injuries needed attending and he couldn't just lie out in the open like this, he would be found by all manner of bandits and wildlife alike.

"O drakon, e male so ftengometta tesd'hup'anankes!" He cried out in his dragon voice, the energy it took left him panting. The adrenaline from the magic was wearing off, meaning he was beginning to feel the pain from being thrown against a stone wall and bitten by fiery snakes. He rolled onto his side and groaned, his spirits rose when he heard the sound of heavy wings flapping.

"Killgarah..." He called weakly not being able to coax himself into moving. The dragon approached him cautiously, a glint of worry in his eyes.

"What happened young warlock? Was it the witch who did this to you?" He asked anger slipping through his voice ever so slightly at the second sentence.

Somehow Merlin managed to tell the story of the retaking of Camelot as briefly as he could, the dragon nodded in approval as Merlin explain how he took down Morguase and stopped the army. By the end of the story Merlin as barely conscious.

"Rest young one" The dragon soothed, "I will help heal you and stay with you tonight"

"Too close to the city..." Merlin muttered "You'll be seen..."

"I shall move you to my cave den once some of your more serious injuries are healed" Killgarah assured "Now, sleep"

Merlin needed no more instruction, his eyes slid closed without a moments thought. He sighed contently as he felt his injuries numb as Killgarah's healing magic began to take hold and with the pain gone the warlock fell into a deep sleep.

**That's my first chapter :) Please review and tell me your thoughts, the more people enjoy the story the faster I will want to update.**

**Also if you find any mistakes or grammar issues please PM me and I shall fix them as soon as I can :)**


	2. Chapter 2

Arthur stood there like a statue, forced still by a mix of shock and horror at what he had just witnessed. Leon was the only one who could bring himself to move, walking slowly to the singed floor where Merlin had stood and picked up the small patch of cloth that had been tied around the boys neck. Arthur wasn't sure if he was happy or horrified that there were no remains of his friend left to burry.

"Demon fire" Gaius whispered, however the room was so still everybody heard him "It disintegrates everything it touches, nothing left of him. If Morgana hadn't left when she did that cloth would be gone as well..."

Gaius lowered his gaze after that, nobody judged him for his tears. Arthur felt a sting in his chest as so many questions raised up about his lost servant, his friend.

"Gaius" He began somewhat shakily "Did Merlin really know about Morgana?"

The physician nodded, "He has known since he followed her and saw her conversing with Morguase a day after she returned, he has been stopping her at every turn as best he could"

"Why didn't he tell some body?" Gwaine yelled frustratedly "Why did he fight a sorceress on his own?"

"Nobody would believe him, least of all Uther" Lancelot admitted getting to his feet.

"How old was he?"

The voice was practically alien in the group making everybody turn to see it was Percival who had spoken. Another stab of guilt hit Arthur when he realized he had no idea, he knew he was older than Merlin but he didn't know by how much.

"He was to come of age next month" Gaius spoke up, "Twenty years old"

"He was a kid, especially when he first came here" Scoffed Leon sadly handing Arthur the small charred neckerchief, "He deserves an honorable death"

Arthur nodded numbly gripping the neckerchief, he wanted nothing more than to run off and be alone but he knew he couldn't. His father needed caring for and the injured needed to be assessed. He muttered something about going to check on his father and quickly made himself scares while the others helped Gaius up so he could tend to the wounded.

He walked along the stone corridors thanking knights and helping the injured to the hall to be treated, eventually the early morning was not far off and the prince was ordered by Gaius to get some rest. Nothing would of pleased Arthur more but unfortunately thoughts of Merlin plagued his mind. He couldn't get Merlin scream of pain, that had been cut short, out of his head. He wished so badly to see him again, even if it was just to thank him for all that he had done over the last year.

Arthur turned his head into the pillow and squeezed his eyes shut, willing himself to fall asleep, ignoring the burning sensation behind his eyes. He would not cry. He would NOT cry...

_Merlin_

Merlin felt himself float back out of the dark abyss of unconsciousness slowly. He became aware that he was lying somewhere soft and warm and that the pin of his injuries were almost gone. He slowly cracked his eyes open and was met with the golden scales of his dragon. Slowly he rolled over, feeling the stiffness that came with magic healing. Killgarah looked down at the warlock where he was laying on a bed of dried grass. Rocks warmed by his fire glowed slightly to his sides keeping his warm despite the lack of blanket.

"Thankyou" Merlin yawned as he sat up, his bruises still aching slightly.

"You will be slightly sore for a few more days, however I managed to heal the burns" Killgarah gave a dragon smile, "I will fly you closer to Camelot, however I cannot risk going as close as I do in the night, you will need to walk for at least an hour before you return"

"I can't go back" Merlin replied dejectedly "Morgana knows of my magic, she will keep coming for me, putting Arthur in more danger, she might even tell him"

"You cannot just ignore your destiny Merlin" The dragon chastised "Arthur still needs you"

"I know" Merlin agreed "I just need to disguise myself"

The dragon sighed somewhat tiredly, as if he was talking to a stubborn child. Merlin ignored him and focused all his energy into transformation magic. He didn't want to become Dragoon again, he needed a permanent body, something that was still young, if he was going to get a new place in the city that is.

"forbregdan ansíen ædregeard áwendednes!" He chanted, he shuddered as he felt his body change, his skin bubbling and moving like strange unholy water before settling down and becoming solid once again.

Quickly Merlin summoned water from his palms and froze creating a makeshift mirror to observe his new features. His bit his lip, his work was not great he still looked very similar to himself. His hair was longer and more wavy, but still the same jet black it had always been. His eyes were shockingly lighter, the pales blue Merlin had ever seen before, they seemed to suit his new face, it was much more sharp than his old one. He stood and discovered he was an inch taller, also he had gained some muscle, nothing like Arthur or the knights but more than he was used to. He was quite obviously not Merlin anymore but anybody who had seen him would think he was related.

"Your transformation magic could use practice young one" The dragon said finally, "I still see you clearly"

"I like it" Merlin decided, "I still feel like me, I'll be my own brother"

The dragon shook his head and lowered it allowing the dragonlord to climb on, the two took to the skies, first Killgarah flew over towards Ealdor, taking a small nap in the forest and Merlin ran into his mothers hour and explained the situation. No doubt a letter from Gaius would arrive within a few days time informing her of his 'death'. Within the hour Killgarah had flown him back towards Camelot, dropping him near the road once he had determined it was safe. Bidding the dragon farewell Merlin made his way down the road, making up a story as he went along.

It had been a long day and by the time Merlin had arrived in the city the sun was only an hour away from setting. Gaius was his best choice Merlin decided, he would tell the truth to Gaius. He made his way up the familiar town road until he reached the citadel. He had been gone around two days, the town was healing slowly, he felt his stomach clench at all the frightened faces he past as he made his way to the physicians rooms.

He found Gaius sitting at his desk, quill in hand. When he entered Gaius looked up at Merlin in wonder, which was soon replaced with sorrow.

"Are you ill?" He asked not looking at Merlin, it made Merlin feel terrible that he had done this.

It took a full hour of talking, a few hugs too, for Merlin to explain what had happened and his new plan. Gaius looked tired by the end of it, Merlin was too.

"They gave you an honorable service" Gaius said finally "In the gardens by the back of the palace, I think Arthur is still there"

More guilt flooded Merlin, it was somewhat eased by Gaius's hand on his shoulder. The old man knew what Merlin was doing was the best option, not the most painless, but the wisest. Merlin gave him a nod and headed out the door to find Arthur.

**Thankyou so much for your reviews Im so inspired! I will be updating soon I promise :) also I figured out Merlins age because in the opening for season 4 the dragon says "Young man" Instead of young boy meaning Merlin has come of age some time between the seasons. Arthur came of age at 21 so Merlin had to be 18 when he arrived in the city**


	3. Chapter 3

The ceremony for Merlin had ended an hour ago but Arthur couldn't bring himself to move. They had picked the oldest tree in the garden, a huge oak, for Merlin's memorial. Since there was no body to burry they had settled for a metal plaque nestled into the wood of the tree.

_In Memory of Merlin_

_A servant who protected Camelot from within from the traitor Morgana_

_and who single handily defeated the immortal army and the witch Morguase. _

_A true and loyal friend, may be rest in peace._

Arthur had wished to write more, to say how brave he was, tell the story of all his selfless deeds but in the end what needed to be said had been so. He sighed, he should go back inside, Gwen would be worried. It was then he heard footsteps behind him.

"You're Arthur right?" Came a voice, it made Arthur stop for a minute. The voice was so similar to Merlin's it was painful. He spun around and was met with a man, maybe a year or two older than Merlin, sharing his features. The shock had caught Arthur so off guard he didn't remember to answer.

"I'm Merlin's brother" The man continued "I came to Camelot just before Morgana's reign, I never got to see him, I just wanted to know if it was true that he was dead"

So Merlin had a brother, who knew? Certainly not Arthur. He had found over the last 48 hours that he had been berating himself for not knowing his friend better, it seemed like he was always talking, but never about himself.

"It's true, I'm sorry" Arthur finally replied sadly glancing back at the plaque.

"I'm Robin" Robin introduced, his voice was barely above a whisper as he read the plaque over and over again, "You really thought these things about him?"

"Not just me" Arthur admitted quietly, it was strange, talking to Robin was almost like talking to Merlin. They looked so alike, he wondered why Merlin never mentioned him before. Then again why would he? Arthur never asked anything of Merlin unless it had something to do with his chores. He should of.

"I am going to head back to Gaius's" Robin announced "I've decided to stay here, find some work"

"I can give you a job" Arthur said a little to quickly, robin raised an eyebrow, "Well you see, as much as I hate it, I do need a manservant and I don't want to replace Merlin. If you're anything like him, then you can have that job. If you like, I can't stand the bootlicker who has been serving me these past few days"

Robin smiled at that, it may have been Arthur's imagination but a small amount of pride showed through that smile, as if it was him who was being praised not his dead brother.

"It would be an honor" Robin replied, "I look forward to meeting all the people Merlin has told me about"

_Merlin_

As he headed back to his room Merlin felt as if he would collapse under the weight of all the emotions swirling around in his gut. Pride and happiness that Arthur considered him a friend, sadness at the fact that he had to lie, guilt for making his friends suffer this way and so many others.

These feelings lessened when he awoke for his first day as Arthur's servant with Robin's face. They were still there but he kept them squashed down, he quickly grabbed some bread that Gaius had left out for him and headed off to wake the Prince. As he entered the dark room he headed over to the curtains to open them only just managing to stop himself saying "rise and shine!". The prince moaned and rolled over to face the dark side of the room, Merlin rolled his eyes and moved over to drag the prince out of bed when he noticed a rag sticking out from under one of the pillows.

He gave it a light tug to reveal his scorch neckerchief, the one he had lost when he teleported, why was it under Arthur's pillow?

"What's this?" He asked slowly feeling the familiar material feed through his fingers.

"Oh that's...nothing, just a memory thats all" Arthur said quickly snatching the cloth looking embarrassed. Merlin didn't question it, it was best if he pretended to be clueless. He went about the morning chores as best he could, trying not to look like he knew what he was doing. 'Robin' had never been a servant before. He was doing a good job until it came to help Arthur with his armor for practice.

He was precise and all too fast, he remembered back when he first started he could never get it right, thats how he should of been. Instead he had slipped back into his routine and the armor was ready within a few short minutes.

"Have you been a servant before?"Arthur asked clearly impressed.

"Um, Merlin was so proud when he finally mastered this armor thing he sent me a pretty detailed description in his letters" Merlin thought up rubbing the back of his neck nervously, "Even a drawing of the armor and all its labeling"

He was lucky, if he ever had trouble thinking a lie he could use the excuse of feeling sad or uncomfortable talking about his brother. Arthur seemed to fall for this, adding another huge pile of guilt to Merlin's already huge plate.

"I gave him such a hard time about it" Arthur sighed with a sad smile, "I was always too hard on him"

Merlin couldn't stand how horrible he felt, at the same time he knew he couldn't ruin his cover. That's when an idea came to him. He could truly let Arthur know how he enjoyed working for him.

"Merlin loved being your servant you know" Merlin said quietly, "He really did, he complained sometimes but he wouldn't of given it up, he always told me about all the knew things he learnt and how fascinating it all was, the parties, the knights, the adventures..."

"He did?" Arthur said looking at Robin intently.

"Of course, I know Merlin better than anybody, he was really happy to be your friend" Merlin insisted.

"Tell me about him" Arthur said after a moment of silence, "He never really spoke about himself, I...I didn't even know how old he was..."

Merlin looked at the floor, part of him wanted to tell Arthur about himself but the other was afraid he would divulge too much. What if he started talking and couldn't stop?

"I'm sorry" Arthur blurted out, "I didn't mean...I know you probably don't want to talk about your brother right now..."

Merlin had been about to correct him when Arthur walked out the doors for training, Merlin trailed behind in silence, unable to see the unshed tears in Arthur's eyes being blinked back.

**Please review :)**


	4. Chapter 4

Arthur made his way down to the training grounds with Robin a few feet behind him, just as he should be. Merlin had always walked beside him unless the king or his court were around. It hadn't started that way, at first he had been as far behind him as Robin was now but over time they had stopped walking in silence and started talking. He saw the other knights of the round table waiting for him at the side of the field, the other knights were already sparing. Arthur saw their eyes widen in shock only to lower again with lost hope at the sight of Robin. The prince felt sorry for him, his reaction had been much the same. Everybody who saw him at first thought he was his little brother.

"Knights, this is Robin" Arthur introduced, Robin gave a nod to the knights.

"Didn't take you long to replace Merlin huh?" Gwaine replied darkly glaring at Robin, "Even got a look alike"

"Robin is Merlin's brother" Arthur said with anger breaking through his voice, "He came to see his little brother before Morgana's reign began, he didn't get a chance to though, Merlin never even knew he was in the city..."

"Sorry mate..." Gwaine muttered suddenly finding his boots very interesting.

"It's fine, Gwaine" Robin sighed, earning him several suspicious glances. They hadn't introduced themselves yet.

"How did you-?" Leon began before Robin cut in.

"He told me all about you, I knew Gwaine the minute he said mate that way" Robin explained, "He wrote about most of you to me"

"He did?" Lancelot questioned. Robin nodded looking a little uncomfortable.

"He, uh...well he never really had friends before he came here, I mean there was Will but he died a few years ago. The other people in our village never really liked him much, being a bastard and all..."

"What happened to your father?" Elyan blurted out, Robin blinked at him for a second.

"We had different fathers" Robin said finally, looking at the ground, "Mine died a year after I was born, Merlin's had to leave...we never really knew him, till a year ago anyway, but his father and Mother never married so he was branded a bastard"

"We will need to tell his father" Leon said looking sullen, "Gaius sent a letter to Hunith but we didn't know how to contact his father"

"Oh he died" Robin sighed looking almost tearful, "He...met Merlin but bandits caught them, before they got home"

"This was a year ago?" Lancelot questioned, Arthur swallowed. Why didn't he know?

"He wouldn't talk about it" Robin said quickly, it seems he felt he had said too much. If Arthur didn't know better he would of thought he had sensed his guilt.

"He never mentioned it" Arthur whispered, shaking his head before drawing his sword, "Come on, I need to hit something"

_Merlin_

Telling his own stories through another set of eyes had been difficult in a way, in another they just seemed to blurt out. He wanted his friends to know about him, even though they didn't know he was still watching.

It had been hard trying to make convincing arguments, they had almost stumped him with that question about his father.

They had trained through most of the day, now it was the afternoon, the other knights had long since left but the round tables members had stayed to train longer. Now they were all leaning up against the fence, resting. All except Arthur.

"Does he always do this?" Merlin asked feigning ignorance as he watched his best friend on the field.

"Only when he is upset, I only ever saw him do this once, when Morgana was ill" Leon sighed, "Back before..."

Merlin gave a knowing nod of the head to show he understood. Little did they knew he more than understood, he had stood in the rain all that time as Arthur had yelled. Right now Arthur was abusing the practice dummy with just as much ferocity, he had stopped using strategic moves a while back, now he was just smashing his sword into the dummy, stopping only when the sword was caught in the metal.

"Should we stop him?" Merlin asked, the guilt was becoming too much to bare.

"I think it's best we let him grieve, even if its in his own way" Lancelot sighed "At least he is working his anger out on the dummy and not on people"

The other knights nodded and took their leave, leaving Merlin standing waiting for Arthur. After a few minutes Lancelot returned and stood by him for a moment, looking conflicted.

"Merlin, he was...special" Lancelot muttered, "I knew but did you, know about him?"

"Yes, the magic" Merlin nodded, he wasn't angry at Lancelot for talking, it was right to assume Merlin would tell his brother, if he really had one.

"Do you...?" Lancelot trailed off, Merlin sighed, he hated this. He hated it so, so much.

"No" He said curtly, "I'm, just Robin"

_Merlin_

'Robin' made his way through the town to collect things for Gaius at the herb stall before the sun set. Arthur had given him time off, something he had never given Merlin, however he knew better than to think it was because he was liked more as Robin. Arthur wanted to be alone, the prince was much to proud to admit his eyes were shining through most of the day.

The guilt was unbearable. He wished there was a way to help Arthur, he wasn't grieving properly, he was trying to put on a brave face but ultimately it didn't work. He was making himself miserable. Arthur had friends in the other knights but Merlin had been his true friend, the person who wasn't afraid to criticizes him. In this last day Merlin had really seen how much he had mattered to the prince.

As he bought the needed herbs and headed back to Gaius's he tried to think of something Robin could do to make Arthur feel better, but he came up with nothing. Robin couldn't do anything, it was Merlin that was needed.

His eyes widened at that realization. Merlin was needed, he was needed, but he was dead. So what if there was a way for he, as Merlin to contact Arthur? A ghost? No, that would have to be a one off thing, he needed something better. He began to smile as he thought of just the spell. After thinking up the plan he couldn't wait to put it into action! He prayed it would help Arthur to move past his 'death'.

Tonight, Arthur was getting a visit from Merlin.

**Sorry this chapter is so short but I wanted to save the next scene for the next chapter :) I'm working on it now!**


	5. Chapter 5

Arthur flopped down onto his bed and laid there with his face in the blankets and his feet hanging off the side. He was exhausted after all that training, alright so he was mostly tired from beating that dummy senseless but he still felt awful. Had it really been only a few days ago he and Merlin had been living in a cave on the run? Merlin, who had made him believe in himself again, gave him the strength to take back his kingdom, instead of sulking in the cave...

"_It's rat" Grinned Merlin, offering the small bowl of meat to the prince in a vague attempt to cheer him up. Only Merlin would find that funny._

"_Oh believe me, you've eaten far worse, I've served you things I'd never of touched but you wolfed 'em down down no problem"_

"_Merlin" The prince growled, "For once leave me in peace, please"_

_Merlin left the bowl by his side and turned to leave, but he stopped._

"_I understand, your father lied to you about Morgana, I don't know why but I'm sure he had his reasons" Merlin began, he had that voice, the one he used when he was deathly serious about something, "Now is not the time for that. He is still your father and he needs you, your people need you"_

"_We cannot defeat an immortal army" Arthur sighed._

"_We don't know, unless we try"_

_He turned away then and sat down on the ground not too far from him, Arthur picked up the food and took a small bite, he hadn't eaten in days..._

Merlin had always listened to Arthur, he knew almost everything about the prince but Arthur had never returned the interest. He knew so little about Merlin. Sighing he undressed and flopped back into bed, properly this time, closed his eyes and tried to sleep.

_Arthur..._

_Arthur, open your eyes..._

_Come on you prat!_

_Arthur's eyes snapped open at that, but he wasn't in his bed anymore. He was standing in a completely white place, in his casual clothes. How had he gotten here? _

"_About time too" _

_Arthur looked around for the source of the voice until it landed on a faded figure, slowly becoming more clear until he was no longer transparent. Merlin stood in front of him, with that stupid idiotic grin on his face! He was wearing his usual neckerchief, no burns visible, no injuries at all. _

"_Merlin?" Arthur breathed in shock, walking up to him in shock, "Is this a dream? Your dead, I...I saw you"_

"_Sorry, I'm not strong enough to appear to you in real life, I had to wait until you were asleep" Merlin grinned, "So I guess you could call it a dream, if you want to, a dream that is real"_

"_But...you're dead ho can you be talking to me?" Arthur was still sure he was going mad , "Are you a ghost"_

_Merlin shrugged, "In a way, I can't really tell you, I'm not supposed to be here"_

_Arthur reached out and touched Merlin's shoulder, half expecting him to disappear or for his hand to go straight through it. Instead it landed on the brown material of his jacket like it would if he were alive._

"_Where are you supposed to be?" Arthur asked finally, again Merlin shrugged._

"_Out there" He said spreading his arms up, "But somebody is keeping me stuck here"_

"_What?"_

"_Arthur you are not grieving properly, you are just blaming yourself and brooding"_

"_You died three days ago!" Arthur snapped, "You **died**Merlin! I mean your a servant why the hell would I take you into battle, its my fault your dead! You had to spend the year fighting Morgana all on your own because you couldn't tell me!"_

"_It's not your fault Arthur" Merlin smiled softly, "Honestly, I did what I had to, grieve and remember me, just don't let it consume you like it is now"_

"_If I do...you can move on?"_

_Merlin nodded sadly. Arthur pulled him into a quick hug, when he released him Merlin blinked in surprise, it would of been comical any other time._

"_You know you were my friend right?" Arthur added quietly, "The best and most loyal friend I ever had"_

"_Thankyou" Merlin smiled, looking happier than Arthur had ever seen him. Arthur had been about to say more when Merlin's body began to glow on the outside and slowly fade making Arthur's face turn to one of horror._

"_What's happening?" He cried stepping forwards and going straight through Merlin like air, "Merlin!"_

"_It's ok" Merlin reassure, "I can't stay here long, I'll visit you again if you need me to, but you have to promise to try and let this go Arthur, I can't stay here forever"_

_Arthur nodded slowly as his eyes burnt and Merlin faded away into almost nothing, finally glowing so bright Arthur had to close his eyes to shield them. _

When he opened them, he was back in his room, in his bed, the dawn only a few hours away.

_Merlin_

Merlin was tired, astral projection was powerful magic, even when it was only making him appear in Arthur's subconscious. It had taken a lot of energy to stay for those few short minutes, as soon as Merlin's mind returned to his body he had collapsed into sleep. He hadn't even had time to retransform his body into Robin until the morning. He hoped the talk had done Arthur some good.

When he went to wake the prince he found that Arthur looked much more rested than he had yesterday, greeting 'Robin' with a smile. He also looked slightly conflicted, Merlin had no doubt that he was trying to decide whether or not to tell Robin about the conversation he had had with his brother.

"Robin, have you had any, dreams?" Arthur asked while he picked at his breakfast, "Ones with Merlin in them?"

"Yeah" Merlin lied, "Mostly just memories from when we were kids though"

"Oh"

Arthur went quiet after that, maybe he should of said Merlin had come to him too? He tried not to dwell on it, He had a welcome distraction when Percival, Leon and Gwaine entered the room all in a right state. Gwaine was obviously drunk or hung over, or both. Percival and Leon were grumbling away about how he had taken a cross bow to the tavern and started shooting barrels with it.

"S'not my fault!" Gwaine whined "Merlin usually came wif me, stopped me doing anything stupid!"

Merlin leant on the desk with his back half to Arthur and the knights, hand over his face. The guilt was getting to him, he also truly missed his friends. Sure he saw and spoke to them every day but they were not Robin's friends, they were Merlin's. He had left them, now he was watching them, but they didn't know he was there, it was sick.

God, he wanted nothing more than to tell the truth, to drop this stupid disguise and just be Merlin again, he hated being Robin. It was necessary though, he had to keep Arthur safe, even if it meant living a lie and being miserable. He felt the tears leak through his closed eyes and fall through the fingers covering his face

"Well Merlin isn't here!" Leon growled, "Don't blame this on a dead man Gwaine!"

"Leon" Arthur interrupted.

"Gwiane you are a knight for goodness sakes"

"Leon"

"Merlin wasn't your baby sitter!"

"Leon!" Arthur snapped finally getting the older knights attention. The four glanced over to where Arthur was looking, Robin's face in his hand with tears leaking through. Leon made a guilty face.

"Robin, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring up your brother like that" Leon muttered.

That made his tear stronger, even though he knew it was a good excuse, he would roll with it. Of course they didn't realize the tears were for himself, they didn't even know he was there. Quickly he whipped his eyes.

"It's fine Leon" He said as smoothly as he could, "I need to take these down to the laundry"

Quickly he picked up Arthur's dirty clothes and hurried out of the room, he had to get a hold of himself!


	6. Chapter 6

After Robin had half walked half ran out of the room the knights stood in silence for a few awkward moments, Leon looking fairly ashamed of himself. Arthur had been feeling so down about Merlin himself he hadn't stopped to think about how it might effect his brother. Robin had obviously been hiding it from them, better than he had.

"We should give him some time" Percival said finally "Loosing a brother is...hard"

The other knights nodded in acknowledgment. It was funny how everybody knew the fate of Percival's family at Cendred's army, they just never spoke of it.

"Perhaps you should speak to him Percival" Gwaine suggested, "I mean, you might understand better than we would"

"I barely know him" Percival defended, "Besides I think he is better on his own"

"I'll find him later, we are going hunting in an hour, go prepare" Arthur waved them off tiredly. His thoughts were still on the talk he and Merlin had shared last night. Selfishly he though about not trying to grieve properly, if he did, he could speak to Merlin every night but he knew that wasn't fair on his spirit. He deserved freedom, it wasn't much but if thats all he could give his friend in thanks, he would try.

He spent the next hour slowly getting his hunting gear ready, Robin returned after a while and began to pack after a hasty apology for his actions. _Saying__sorry__for__crying__over__the__death__of__your__own__brother,__you__really__are__like__him..._Arthur thought bitterly. Robin was nice, a good man, but he just wasn't Merlin.

The hunt was good, much more fruitful than usual without Merlin snapping twigs and tripping over every few seconds. The knights joked about this, not to tease the dead boy but as a reminder, they all smiled at the memory, even the prince and Robin. They settled down to eat, while the knights set about skinning the animals, Robin made a fire and set up the tents and was soon contently roasting the meat on a stick.

The group huddled around the fire talking while they watched the meat sizzle and cook. They watched as the fat from the chunk of meat dripped into the fire, making it snap and pop which in turn made Robin, who had been setting up the final tent, jump like a frightened rabbit.

The whole group laughed.

_Merlin_

Merlin jumped when he heard the fire crackle, it was a reflex, a Merlin reflex. Try as he may he couldn't stop himself from spinning around to meet the laughs of the knights. It was only fat dripping into the fire...

"That's something Merlin did too" Elyan pointed out, "If a fire so much as moved he'd become like a skittish pony"

For a second Robin looked conflicted, like he was making a decision on whether or not to speak back.

"That's to be expected really" He said finally, finishing with the last of the knots and joining them by the fire, closer than Merlin ever did.

"Why?" Asked Arthur trying to look only vaguely interested and failing.

"When we were young we got suck in a house fire, we only survived because..." Robin trailed off for a moment, "The wind caught the flames in just the right way, blew them to the side so we could get out, we were both pretty skittish around fire since then"

The knights sat around the fire quietly for another moment before Arthur growled and stood up quickly, taking everybody's eyes with him. After a short minute he picked up a stone from near his feet and threw it into the woods with a grunt.

"We always teased him, always gave him a hard time" Arthur growled, "Why didn't he ever tell us anything! I knew him for years yet I never knew anything about him till you came along!"

Arthur hadn't meant to spit the word 'you' like it was Robin's fault but he couldn't help it. Robin looked so conflicted, what was that look? It was almost like he knew the answers to all of Arthur's questions but couldn't decide whether or not to tell him. He was sick of it.

"He didn't tell you because he was afraid" Robin said quietly, looking like he had divulged some great secret.

"Afraid?" Arthur replied looking confused "Afraid of what?"

"Afraid of you" Robin admitted, "You were his best friend but you also scared him the most, I think he was more afraid of you then he was of Uther"

"Merlin was terrified of Uther" Lancelot muttered, still loud enough for everybody to hear.

"Why, would Merlin be afraid of me?" Arthur whispered sitting back down, he had to hear this. Merlin couldn't of been scared of him, he never would of hurt him, sure they joked but Arthur would never cause him harm.

Robin sighed.

"Merlin was born...different to other people, besides being a bastard" Robin said quietly, not looking at any of the knights, "He was born...with magic"

"Nobody is born with magic, its something you learn!" Arthur argued the others quickly shushed him.

"Not Merlin, he could move things with his mind before he could talk" Robin smiled slightly, "He never could control it very well, that's why mother sent him to Camelot, so Gaius could help him".

The others looked dumbstruck, nobody felt as bad as Arthur though. He wanted to shut Robin up, yell at him, tell him to stop lying. But he wasn't lying, Arthur could tell.

"Even though he had friends he was scared that if you ever found out, you would hand him over to Uther or worse, kill him yourself"

"_Not everyone who uses magic can be evil"_

"_You really think that Arthur?"_

There was more silence after that. For a very long time.

"I would of forgiven him" Arthur sighed, "I, I wouldn't of killed him, he cant help it if he was born that way I mean...I..."

With that he stormed off to his bed roll and frustratedly tried to will himself to fall asleep, he prayed Merlin would visit him. He heard the other mutter to themselves and after a while they ate and went tot heir own rolls. He heard footsteps come to his side, he sat up to see Robin kneeling in front of him, holding out a bowl.

"I'm afraid its not rat but it tastes just as good" Robin grinned, "Merlin told me you were ever so fond of rats"

"How often did Merlin write to you?" Arthur asked looking Robin straight in the eye, "Why have I never seen or heard about you before?"

"Merlin wrote to me as often as he could" Robin answered without wavering, "I lived in a small village not far from Ealdor, it burnt down a few weeks ago and I couldn't burden mother so I came to look for Merlin as for why he never spoke about me, he was just very private"

After that Robin went off to get water and Arthur settled down to sleep he closed his eyes and tried to relax, hoping at any second he would wake up in the huge white place where Merlin would be waiting for him. Sure he would chastise him for not moving on but it was better than nothing. Then a cold thought hit him, what if Merlin knew that he knew of his magic, what if he was so scared to visit Arthur?

_Arthur..._

Arthur smiled and opened his eyes.


	7. Chapter 7

"_Merlin!" Arthur smiled happily seeing his friend standing in the huge expanse of white just as he had been last night. He ran forwards to greet his friend but Merlin stepped back._

"_Do you hate me?" He asked, voice barely above a whisper, "For lying to you?"_

"_No, Merlin you cant help it if you were born with magic" Arthur shook his head, "Its not like you studied it by choice"_

_Merlin made a face, "I cant keep visiting you Arthur, you need to move on"_

"_He isn't you!" Arthur finally cried, "He is like you but he isn't you Merlin!"_

"_Robin?"_

"_Of course" _

"_Why didn't you ever talk about him?"_

_Merlin looked at his feet looking uncomfortable, he lifted his hand and rubbed his neck, just like Robin did when he was struggling with something. _

"_Arthur I need to go, please can't you try and move on" Merlin almost pleaded, his eyes shining, "I don't want to go but...I have to"_

"_Why didn't you ever tell us anything?" Arthur continued to question, "Why do I need to learn about your life second hand?"_

"_Arthur..."_

"_Tell me!"_

"_I got used to keeping secrets..." Merlin whispered before biting his lip "I shouldn't be doing this..."_

_Arthur was about to ask Merlin what he meant before the boy began to fade out of sight and into the endless white beyond, which was slowly fading with him. Arthur opened his mouth to cry out but Merlin's stare stopped him._

"_Wake up Arthur"_

Arthur jerked awake, blinking a few times to get hid bearings, by the look of things he had been asleep for only a little over an hour. He sighed and tried to fall back into slumber, it was harder knowing it would be a normal sleep this time. But Merlin would comeback tomorrow night, he would, wouldn't he?

_Lancelot_

He hated being on watch, it was always so dull. Well, that wasn't strictly true but the bad thing about an interesting watch usually meant bandits were trying to slit his throat. He stapped to attention when he heard a small gasp coming from the camp, he turned to see Arthur blinking himself awake from some dream looking sad. Lancelot had no doubt Merlin had been in it. Robin had been gone a long time now, he had wandered off to get firewood or water, something along those lines almost an hour ago. Lancelot gave Percival a nod and walked off in the direction Robin had headed off in. After a few minutes he saw the shape of a thin man sitting on a small piece of earth jutting out into the clear water on the lake. Lancelot was about to walk around to the small peninsula when the man turned his face allowing the moon light reflecting on the clear water to light up his features, revealing the young warlock who had not been dead for a week.

Lancelot was left gaping as Merlin stood up looking at the ground sadly before turning and spotting the knight staring at him. After a few seconds of mutual staring Merlin stepped back into he tree's deep shadows and began heading for Lancelot. The overjoyed knight ran to meet him hallway but his joy was short lived.

Robin stepped out of the trees, wearing the same clothes Merlin had been wearing, no that wasn't true, they were never Merlin's clothes. Robin saw the fall of his face.

"Did I, do something wrong Lancelot?" He asked looking confused but also knowing.

"Sorry, my eyes played a trick on me, thats all" Lancelot sighed

"You thought I was my brother didn't you" Robin muttered knowingly, Lancelot nodded, "It's ok, I wish I was him too"

Lancelot had been about to argue but Robin didn't give him the chance before walking off into the trees towards the camp, leaving the very guilty feeling knight behind.

_Merlin_

The next day of hunting had been tense to put it lightly. Arthur had been quiet, too quiet it was almost as if he had regressed into himself. He barely even hit his targets. It was because of this they had decided on an early return to the city in which Arthur had immediately taken to the training field to bash another dummy senseless.

Merlin mentally berated himself for the dream idea. It had only made things worse. Not only was it making Arthur more depressed he had almost been caught by Lancelot last night, it had taken a lot of magic to correctly transform himself back into Robin before Lancelot reached him. He wished he could of slept more. Gods he was tired. The chores, the hunting, the powerful magic needed to astral project himself into Arthur's dream and to transform back much faster than he was used to only seconds after had exhausted him. He was to be the first one up to cook and clean the camp as well. This resulted in very little sleep.

His stomach churned as he thought about the food waiting for him in Gaius's chambers, usually he took what ever food he could but for some reason he was just too tired to eat. Like a loyal servant however he waited by the training grounds while Arthur sliced all the limbs off the training dummy and then quickly walked with him to his rooms and served dinner.

The smell of food on Arthur's plate made his stomach twist, he didn't feel well. Luckily for him his work out had made the prince hungry and he didn't take too long to eat before dismissing Robin.

Merlin trudged into Gaius's chambers, earning him a cold stare from the physician before he slumped into his bed.

"Mer-Robin, dinner!" Gaius called somewhat irritatedly. Gaius couldn't risk calling him Merlin, the doors were too thin and the chance that somebody could hear was too great. Merlin moaned in reply, he was too tired. He was vaguely aware of Gaius draping his blanket over him but after that he fell asleep.

Arthur

He had been lying here for hours. He closed his eyes, relaxed, tried his best to fall asleep but Merlin's voice didn't wake him and there was no white light. Merlin wasn't going to visit him tonight.

Arthur wondered if he had gone on already. Maybe he was in Avalon now, maybe he was happy. Selfishly Arthur secretly wished he was still here, able to talk to him in his sleep. He quickly brushed that thought aside however, Merlin deserved to be in paradise, Arthur shouldn't hold him back.

After a restless night with very little sleep Arthur finally awoke to the sun streaming through a crack in his curtains. Slowly he got up and threw them back revealing that he should of been awake an hour ago. Guess Robin and Merlin weren't all that different. He quickly dressed and headed down to Gaius's chambers to give the servant a good yelling at, he knew he shouldn't but he needed to yell at somebody and Robin just so happened to piss him off first.

He marched into the chambers to find Robin sitting at the table with Gaius who was holding out a vile of clearish green liquid to the man who made a face.

"Have a nice sleep in did we Robin?" Asked Arthur in mock concern, Robin made a face. It was then Arthur noticed his face was flushed a deeper shade of pink than it should be, "What's wrong with you?"

"He was simply overworked is all" Gaius half scolded making Robin shrink a bit, "He didn't eat dinner last night either meaning he had trouble getting up this morning due to the fever he worked himself into"

"I'll be fine soon sire" Robin insisted making a face as he downed the vile's contents, "I'll go start on the armor, it will need polishing after all that target practice yesterday afternoon"

The servant quickly dispatched himself, leaving an annoyed and yes, slightly worried Arthur in his wait.

**Im sorry! I know this chapter is late! I'm working on the next one, I swear it wont take as long!**


	8. Chapter 8

**My computer crashed and I had to write this chapter twice!**

Over the next few weeks Arthur did his best not to over work Robin as he did Merlin when he had been alive. Doing so was harder said than done, the king was still in emotional shock and that left his responsibilities to Arthur. The prince was exhausted and extremely tired, with all his extra duties he had so many jobs for Robin as well. He was doing his best to prioritize ad only make him do the most important ones but even those kept the man busy.

Unlike his friendship with Merlin, he and Robin barely spoke when they didn't have to. If they did Arthur found himself thinking of Merlin and Robin would never speak of him. It was frustrating. Not only that but people had began to go missing. In a disturbing discovery, hearts and lives were found in the ground or washed into river beds a few days after each disappearance of anybody. What made it worse was the fact that most of those who disappeared were youths, some even children.

"Who kills people and leaves their hearts and livers just laying around?" Arthur sighed frustratedly.

"A kelpie" Robin said simply making Arthur's head snap up.

"A what?"

"Kelpie" Robin replied again stopping his tidying, "A kelpie is a creature that resembles a horse but it can shape change into anything to lure people away with whatever they want most. Then when its close to the water, it turns back and drags them back into the water and eats them, but for some reason it doesn't eat hearts of livers"

"Why didn't you mention this earlier?" Arthur exclaimed, "Over fifty people have already been killed!"

"I only read about kelpies yesterday" Robin shrugged, he had become cold over the last few days. Arthur remembered hearing Leon express worry that he was slipping into depression from Merlin's death. Arthur knew he should ask if he was ok but he just couldn't.

_Merlin_

As Arthur gathered the knights to go Kelpie hunting Merlin sat on the front steps, waiting to b e called over. He no longer mingled with the knights as much, only when he had to. It was just too hard. He jumped when he felt somebody drop down next to him on the stairs, surprisingly it was Percival.

"You are barely talking at all" He said

"You can talk" Merlin joked lightly, earning a grin from Percival.

"Is it your brother?" the knight continued seriously, "When Cenred killed my family, I lost my brother and for a long time I was sad"

"You don't need to tell me this..." Merlin whispered feeling guilty that Percival was telling such a personal story when it wouldn't help at all.

"It's all right" Percival smiled, "Its just so you know, the pain will always be there, but you learn to strive for something and soon, you will be able to live without the sadness crushing you"

Merlin gave him a grateful smile, it was nice to feel now that Robin had some friends as well as Merlin. Soon they were all riding into the edges of the forest, the people had disappeared at night near the edges of the lower town meaning they would be able to catch the kelpie before it entered town. The afternoon had almost been slow and lazy, Arthur and a few other knights went hunting while Lancelot, Percival and he had set up camp and collected firewood and water.

As the sun began to set a feeling of unease settled in their camp however, they knew a Kelpie wouldn't come straight into their camp so they went off in pairs. Merlin stuck with Arthur naturally. However the fear seemed short lived, they had been wandering for a good hour now and no signs of danger.

"I'm beginning to think you were wrong Robin" Arthur sighed, more out of boredom than frustration, Merlin smirked.

"Well, maybe it is better this is the work of human" Merlin replied, "Better than a mutant horse right?"

"Sire!"

Arthur and Merlin quickly turned to see Lancelot and Percival come pelting down the hill.

"We think we saw it!" Percival panted, "It tried to trick Lancelot into following it"

"How? Which way did it go?" Arthur fired off the questions suddenly in serous battle mode. Lancelot blushed.

"Well...I thought I saw Gwen and, well she told me to come down to the lake, but I knew Gwen wasn't here so I wasn't fooled"

"Long" Percival added with a small grin, Merlin did as well when Arthur threw Lancelot a dirty look.

"Where is it now?" Merlin asked feeling nervous as he glanced around, a bush rustled to his right making him leap backwards in shock. Usually Arthur would of laughed but instead he advanced on the bush, sword at the ready.

"Show yourself!" He ordered fiercely.

All four jaws dropped when the lanky form of a certain warlock came walking out of the trees with a foolish grin on it's face.

"Merlin" Arthur breathed, dropping his sword in shock, the merlin copy laughed.

"You guys will never believe where I've been!" The copy sighed with relief and starting walking towards the prince who was still frozen in shock. Merlin, the real one that is, felt ice run down his back. He was the only one who knew this Merlin was a fake!

"Arthur no!" He yelled running forward and pulling the prince back just as the fake Merlin's hands were about to brush his shoulder.

"Robin wha-?" The dazed prince rubbed his eyes and blinked as if he didn't realize where he was. He was lucky, the kelpie almost had him!

"It's not him, it's the kelpie!" Merlin explained, he had almost said 'its not me!'.

The kelpie, still in Merlins form hissed, shiftings and mutating until it formed a kind of slimy, green horse with backwards hooves. Merlin covered his mouth to keep from vomiting, the transformation was nauseating.

"The kelpie!" Arthur exclaimed finally free of the trance like state the kelpie had put him in. Merlin stepped back as the prince and his knights advanced on the creature. He quickly allowed the other knights to come running through the trees, he took his place at the back of the pack incase his magic was needed. Some things never changed.

"Careful not to touch it!" Arthur warned stabbing the beast in the side. Surprisingly unlike many magical entities the sword did damage, not as much as would be hoped, but it screeched.

At first Merlin was worried that he would have to resort to magic but after a few minutes the best was dead at their feet much to the groups surprise.

"That was too easy..." Percival muttered, they were all thinking the same thing.

"Now, that wasn't very nice now was it?" Came a voice dripping with fake sympathy. The group turned and glared at the smiling face of Morgana.


	9. Chapter 9

Arthur looked up at the woman he had grown up with, his sister, she had been one of his greatest friends through the years, and now he hated her. He hated her more than anybody in the entire kingdom, the entire world. Just looking at her made his blood boil up. She stood there with that smug grin on her face, so happy with all the pain she caused,not only to Camelot but to him personally. Only a few months ago they had been together, eating dinner like a family, the a few weeks after she betrayed them, and a few after that she killed his friend. He glowered at her.

"Oh I see we are still a little bit sore about the last time we met" She continued smugly, "Who's this then? God yourself a new servant I see, then again I suppose a ghost wouldn't make such a great servant"

"You ruined **everything!**" Robin roared from behind the prince, just like Arthur, he was shaking with rage, "You completely **ruined **my life!"

"Oh now I see the resemblance" Morgana replied casually, "You must be related to that bloody pain in the neck Merlin"

"Don't you talk about him like that!" Arthur yelled, "He was better than you!"

"Please don't patronize me" She spat, "I only lured you out here to finish the job I started months ago by killing your servant"

"What job is that?" Arthur growled, picking up his sword.

"Killing off the last of my enemies of course, out here with only a few of you, no way of calling for help" Then she added cruelly, "And no Merlin"

That was it. Arthur snapped. With a strangled scream Arthur raised his sword and went for the witch.

_Merlin_

He breathed heavily through his teeth, he could feel the wind picking up, swirling around the clearing due to his magic. He had to be careful, once, when he reached the anger stage of grief after Freya's death he had yelled at Gaius and sent half objects in the room flying and the other half either exploded or burst into flames. He had to stay calm...stay calm...

Arthur gave a strangled yell of pure rage, lunging towards Morgana who simply smiled and sent him flying backwards with a wave of her hand. That didn't deter him, or the other knights they all ran at her only to be knocked back against the trees at the edge of the clearing.

"Geraoentteágian" Morgana snarled and to Merlins horror each knights were suddenly bound in the same silver enchanted chains he had once been. They all struggled only to have them tighten even more.

"Now, what to do about you?" She continued, stepping down into the glade towards Merlin who glared back at her, "Are you as troublesome as his last servant?"

"Leave him alone!" Lancelot yelled only to have his chains tighten even more.

"áræran" She whispered, lifting her hand to Merlin and lifting him into the air with her magic, leaving him flailing hopelessly in mid air a few feet from her.

"NO! Leave him alone! He hasn't done anything!" Arthur cried struggling harder against his chains.

"Be quiet you!" morgana snapped, "Ill get to you in a minute, I just want to make you suffer a little more first"

Merlin struggled against the magic, he could fight it with his own but how could he in the situation? The last thing he wanted was to reveal that Robin had magic as well. If push came to shove he would but right now he was desperate for a way out. Unfortunately for him his concentration was broken by Morgana's spell forcing him backwards and into the thick trunk of a tree with much more force than the knights. Merlin felt his head crack painfully.

He was barely aware that he was sliding down the tree and slumping on the ground, his vision swam in front of him and the pain in his head was blinding. He was vaguely aware of somebody calling out his assumed name.

He had to stay conscious, if he did it was only a matter of hours before the glamour wore off and he would be physically himself again. _Stay awake, stay awake..stay awake...stay...awake..._

_Merlin! What has happened?_

_Kilgharrah...?_

_I've been staying nearby in order to keep an eye on things, I did not think this plan was a good one_

_Morgana, I-I hit my head..._

_I'm on my way_

Ordinarily Merlin would never let Killgarah approach when Arthur and the knights were here but he was slipping too fast to care. He forced himself, grunting with the effort, to sit up.

Arthur

Arthur watched as Robin feebly tried to get up only to fall back down onto his face. Arthur's stomach twisted at the sight of the blood on the back of his skull, that was a concussion for sure. His worry turned to anger as he watched Morgana laugh.

"You've got Merlin's pluck I'll give you that" She chuckled, "And Arthur, I should of known you'd get attached to him, you really make torturing you too easy"

Arthur made a sound somewhere between a growl and a sneer when another sound droned him out. A huge frightening roar. It reminded the prince of the griffin they had fought years ago, only deeper and more frightening like ripping sheets of huge metal apart. Even Morgana looked surprised, the sound came again,this time with a face, a huge, golden dragons's face. The creature swooped down, circling the clearing with a cry that sent Morgana running backwards until she was away from Robin. The dragon landed with a heavy thud on the ground at the edge of the small area, crushing two trees in its wake.

It stepped between Morgana and the group of knights, standing tall and defiant.

Arthur looked at the fear in Morgana's eyes, this creature was obviously not under her control. Again the monster roared, lifting one great taloned foot and bringing it down towards Morgana before she swirled and disappeared in her black wind, her scream echoed through the air. The dragons snort of annoyance told the prince it had not crushed her as it hoped. Then the dragon turned to the knights and to their surprise, used its claws to free them from the chains which fell the the ground harmlessly.

Arthur stood and drew his sword once more ready to fight but the dragon had no more interest in him, it turned to Robin who, to the groups shock, smiled and whispered something at the dragon who breathed a strange glowing mist onto the man.

"Get on my back" The dragon ordered to the knights as he crouched down to allow them access.

"You talk!" Arthur cried in surprise.

"Very well observed young Pendragon" The dragon sighed, "Now get on my back"

"Its ok" Robin smiled, "This was Merlin's dragon"

The dragon snorted in annoyance at the man who grinned at him.

"Merlin had a..." Gwaine trailed off as he climbed up onto the beasts back.

"I shall explain later" The beast grumbled, "For now we must get somewhere safe for, Robin, to rest"

**Sorry about the slow update but I went back to working on Fathers Guilt and got really into it.**


	10. Chapter 10

Exhilarating. It was the only word to describe it. Flying, he was flying! It took all his self control not to raise his arms up and yell in joy. Gwaine wasn't quite strong enough to resist the urge, making the group laugh.

He couldn't believe how relaxed they all were considering they were flying on the back of a dragon! A dragon that looked frightfully similar to the dragon he had killed a year ago. The flight only took a few minutes and they landed on the side of a mountain near a large cave, the inside was fairly bare with one exception.

A small nest a few square meters big made of dry grass which was surrounded by a few rocks was near the centre of the room, the dragon walked its way around and laid down so that its side rested up against the edges of the strange nest. Arthur wondered if it was for eggs, though judging from the voice, this dragon was male, at least that is what he thought, he knew nothing about dragons so perhaps they all sounded male even if they were not. He certainly didn't think another dragon mate could fit in this cave comfortably. One way to find out.

"So...are you a boy or a girl dragon?" Arthur asked, the dragon snorted.

"Do I sound like a female to you young Pendragon?" He demanded, yes definitely a he.

"I was just checking, you have that nest and well, I figured only girls could lay eggs..." Arthur muttered, feeling stupid.

"That is not a nest and it is not for eggs" The dragon shook it head like it was speaking with a young child, "It is a bed"

"A bed?" Leon asked with a raised eyebrow that could make Gaius impressed.

"That's right" Gwaine smiled, he seemed fairly comfortable with the whole situation, then again he hadn't been there a year ago, "Robin said you were Merlin's dragon, so Merlin must of slept there"

"Merlin's dragon..." The beast muttered sounding slightly insulted, "He was not my master, I am not a pet"

"Not a horse either..." Robin mumbled with a slight grin on his face, the dragon gave him a look. Arthur didn't understand that, must of been some private joke between the two.

"So, um Dragon, we were told you were dead" Leon started, "Arthur killed you"

"That wound was barely a scratch" He laughed, "I left because Merlin ordered me to"

"Merlin ordered you to leave, so you just did?" Arthur gaped, he couldn't believe Merlin waited four days to do that! So many people could of lived.

"It is a complicated story young Pendragon, one best told by somebody else" He huffed sending smoke spiraling from his nostrils.

"Well, Dragon why did you bring us here?" Arthur asked finally, the dragon gave a twitch.

"His name is Kilgharrah" Robin supplied suppressing a laugh at the dragons annoyance.

"I bought you here so we would be safe from the witch" He said simply, it is a long way to Camelot, I shall fly you closer when it is dark, for now I will allow you to rest in my cave"

Robin took to this idea straight away walking over to the bed of dry grass and flopping down on it as simply as anybody else would on a normal mattress. Kilgharrah then breathed a small stream of fire onto the surrounding rocks, effectively heating the bed much to Robin's happiness.

The dragon then stretched out the wing that was closest and covered the bed with it, hiding the man from sight. It was strange, the dragon was being so...tender and caring. He had only ever seen fire and pain from a dragon, this, this was something else.

The knights spent the next hour leaning against the far wall in mostly silence before Percival spoke up.

"You came to save us today and I am thankful but, if you knew Robin was in trouble, why didn't you come to save Merlin?" He asked

"The warlock did call on me" The dragon began slowly, "However the damage had been done"

"You were his dragon, yet you seem to care about Robin just as much as I would image you cared for his brother" Leon agreed

"Many birds look the same" Kilgharrah answered mysteriously, "Sometimes the same bird can look different, depending on what light you see it in"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Arthur asked, The dragon just tilted his head and gave the man what Arthur imagined was a smile. Sighing Arthur sat down and let his head fall onto his chest, slowly he closed his eyes. He was tired...

_Would you trade him for me?_

_Arthur's eyes snapped open, delighted to find himself in the great white place once more, it had been so long. In a way he was sad, all these weeks and Merlin still hadn't moved on but, at least it meant he could talk to his friend again._

_"What do you mean?" He said opening his eyes, smiling at his former servants face._

_"Robin, if you could, would you make him and I trade places?" Merlin continued, "Even if it meant Morgana coming after you more, because she wanted to kill me?"_

_"I wish I could..." Arthur said honestly, "But, giving up another persons life for yours...it would be wrong, especially because its your brother, he is a good person"_

_"You wouldn't care about all the trouble I'd cause, being alive with magic?" Merlin asked, barely over a whisper, "Even though I kept a dragon from you?"_

_"Not one bit" Arthur replied, completely honestly. Merlin gave a small smile._

_"Sometimes...a bird can look different, even mistaken for another, if seen in a different light..."_

Arthur had been about to ask what he meant when he was shaken awake by a rough hand. Blinking his eyes focused on the face of Gwaine who still had his shoulder.

"What is it Gwaine" He grunted slightly annoyed.

"Smoke, coming from Camelot's direction, we think the city is under attack!"


	11. Chapter 11

As the great dragon approached the city the smoke became clearer, somebody had attacked the citadel in their absence! The dragon landed lighting in a clearing not too far from the city and lowered them to the ground before flying off without even a hint of remorse for what was happening to the city, Arthur saw Robin frown.

He didn't spend too long dwelling on it however, the group rushed to the city to find it being attacked by what looked like a small army, normally a group of a few dozen couldn't bring down Camelot however these men and women were not using swords, they were using magic. Fire sprung from their hands, arrows stopped in mid air only to turn and kill their shooters, swords glowed bright with unnatural blue fire. It was a nightmare.

"We will cover you!" Leon yelled to Arthur, "Get to the citadel, whoever is behind this will be there!"

Arthur gave a nod and began to weave his way through the screaming crowds, he hoped his father was ok. He was surprised to see Robin running with his at his side, looking hardened and focused.

"What are the odds it Morgana?" He said in a slightly sarcastic voice as he dodges a fire ball.

"There is a slight possibility" Arthur agreed with the same amount of sarcasm.

Arthur swung his sword defensively at a blue glowing sword that shot his way, Robin quickly weaved around to his back in order to stop him being hit in his blind spot, it reminded Arthur of when he and Merlin fought the Knights of Medir. Now that he thought back to all those times he and Merlin had gone into battle he felt bad for not knighting Merlin. He was the only one of the men he didn't knight before they took Camelot back, he didn't even consider it, even though Merlin probably deserved it most.

The two burst into the halls which were mercifully empty, most of the enemy was outside fighting the knights of Camelot. The pair made their way to the council chambers with haste as usual they were locked, no problem. Arthur gave Robin a grin which he returned.

"For the love of Camelot!" They both roared and charged into he doors which burst open quite effectively with an explosion of dust.

As expected, Morgana was slouched on the throne, the king was tied to a stone pillar not far away, a nasty bruise forming on the side of his head where he had obviously been knocked out.

"Father!" Arthur cried horrified and he rushed to the kings side only to be hit by yet another invisible force and be sent sliding back towards the door much to his frustration.

"That trick is really getting old" Robin sighed, how he wasn't fazed by this after their last fight with Morgana Arthur couldn't understand.

"I thought this might get your attention, though I had hoped you'd of been killed by serkets by now" Morgana sighed, "How did you escape my chains?"

"You wouldn't believe us even if we wanted to tell you" Arthur replied.

"No matter" She sighed, "I guess I'll just get to enjoy killing you all over again"

The witch stood and took a few steps towards the pair, firing bolts of energy out her palms as she went, the two quickly dove to the ground. Arthur couldn't see Robin through the haze, he didn't have too long to worry however as soon Morgana's form cam through the thick dust, ball of fire spinning in her hand.

"Any last words?" She asked sweetly, Arthur gritted his teeth and gripped his sword hilt, he didn't have a chance with his sword, the fire would hit too fast but he had to try. Just as he had been about to raise it the fire in Morgana's palm snuffed out as easily as a candle in the wind, a pained look struck across he face, she took a few steps to the side before falling to the ground, gripping her back and side. Revealing a stone faced Robin, with a blood stained sword hanging from his hand.

"You should know better than to turn your back on a servant by now Morgana" He said cooly.

Arthur's eyes widened. The way Robin was standing, sword at his side, looking down at Morgana.

_Sometimes the same bird can be mistaken for another, in the right light..._

_A Merlin and a Robin_

_Birds..._

_Same bird different light_

_magic_

_Merlin's magic!_

"Merlin!" Arthur yelled, just as he suspected Robin turned to face him instinctually, Arthur smiled. And quickly stood up above Morgana who had regained her footing.

"You two can't beat me!" She screamed, sending all the glass in the windows smashing to the floor.

"I'd run while you still can" Merlin smiled mimicking Morgana's same lines to him underneath the crypt all those months ago, "Forbærne!"

Morgana quickly dove out of the fires way, "Does everybody in that bloody family have magic?" She cried frustrated. Arthur winked, Robin on the other hand began to shift, like his skin was made of water, his hair shot into his head, his eyes darkened until Merlin stood there just as before to the witches horror.

"Glamours, wonderful things don't you agree?" Merlin grinned, Arthur would of hugged him if they were not so busy fighting for Camelot.

"You!" She growled sending a bolt of lighting at Merlin which he quickly blocked, "Why do you always ruin everything!"

Another scream escaped her lips and with it a bolt of powerful instinctual magic, the line of pure glowing white energy heading straight for the princes heart. Arthur was vaguely aware of Merlin pushing him out of the way but it didn't register until he felt himself hit the ground and Merlin fly into the wooden door as Morgana once again disappeared.

Arthur was at Merlin's side in a second, the magic had struck his shoulder which was smoldering slightly but he was alive, and he was Merlin again.

"I've really got to find a way to counter that teleport spell" Merlin coughed only to find himself winded again by a hug from Arthur.

"You have so much explaining to do!" He yelled angrily, "Do you have any idea what you've put everybody through!"

"I've had to watch remember" Merlin added quietly.

"Don't you ever do that again Merlin!" Arthur laughed helping him to his feet, "ever".

Arthur couldn't believe it, Merlin was alive. He was so happy he couldn't even stay angry at him for what he did, he would have a good explanation. For some reason Arthur found both him and Merlin doubling over with laughter, he didn't know what he was laughing at but a feeling told him that Merlin didn't either. Eventually the other knights returned only to find their prince sitting on the floor, back to back with Merlin, still trying to get a hold of themselves.

Merlin was of course welcomed back with open arms. Morgana was still at large, but for some strange reason, nobody seemed to care.

**Done! :) This story was pretty short, oh well, I'm planning an epic story at the moment, Stay tuned!**


End file.
